Two Falling Angels
by gfulloa
Summary: Before the world ended, there was a boy and a girl, that fell together and would be together forever. No matter what happened they would have each other. Even though they knew that one day the adventure would end they would still have a little piece of the other. Daryl found an angel that would fall and Zoe found a fallen angel Daryl x OC. And eventually Carl x OC, Rick x Michonne.
1. Intro

Daryls POV

I ran blindly through the forest one hand tearing the branches out of the way, the other warm and wet pressed against my nose. My eyes were stinging blurring my vision, allowing tears to stream down my face. _They can go ta'hell, all of 'm. _ My lips were quivering as I came to a stop somewhere deep in the forest. I removed my hand from my face seeing that it was drenched in crimson, _oh shit. _The bleeding hadn't stopped, thats never good. I looked around in panic as I noticed that I had not a clue where I was. I thought about calling out for Merle but knowing him, he was riding on his dirtbike far away from here, with Michael, Ryan and, Alex not far behind him. _pothead jerks_, I mumbled to myself in a shaky voice from crying.

_Why does he do that? Why does Merle just take off and run when I could really use his help? _Merle was a sorry excuse for a brother but what did I expect? _Get raised by a tanked dad, with a bit of a temper, ya'ought to get popped in the nose now and then. _Were parents always like this? Moms always had a good buzz going for em, and dads...dads were just assholes. Especially when you're outside trying to look at pictures in a book , that the nice old lady down the street lent to you. Out of no where your old man comes slamming the screen door open yelling at your brother for forgetting to pick up some peach schnapps for him. Your drop-out of a brother throws the joint he was smoking out of his mouth, taking his friends with him leaving you behind. Your dad yells at them as they run away and you're left sitting there wide-eyed thinking to yourself _i'm a goner. _Next thing you know you've long dropped the book and running for what could be your life into the forest behind your house.

Well now i'm here, blood pouring down the front of my face, tears rolling down my cheeks and I have no idea where the heck I am. I sat down at the base of a tree for hours, sniffing with puffy eyes from crying, wiping the blood off my face with my sleeve every few minutes. This went on until it got dark and I was feeling light headed, then everything was black.

I woke up to someones hands on my shoulders shaking me back and forth until I gave in and began to blink my eyes open. When I opened my eyes I found I was staring into a pair of big doe-eyes, I think thats what they are called. Big eyes with long dark lashes filled with an iris that looked like you were staring at a forest through thick white smoke, like that time me and Merle went camping and found a green stone, soothing, filling me with warm comforting feelings. I was about to fall back to sleep when the shaking rattled my head, again. I started to sit-up and felt a sharp shooting pain fill my head. There was a girl in front of me, she reminded me of a deer, she had Long curly dark black-ish brown-ish hair that pooled at her chest, big eyes, a button nose and full lips. She could only be a year younger then me 5 years old probably. I looked at her a while noticing how, like me, her clothes had seen better days. She was wearing a dark green shirt with a _Ed Harding_ design of a tiger on the front that went down to the top of her knees, a hamidown obviously from a boy. Her pants were boy cut and had rips that were clearly not intentional. I was having a hard time figuring her out not just because my head was throbbing, but also because her boyish outfit did not look like they belonged on the same body that was wearing yellow eeyore socks and white laceless converse.

She pressed her soft hand to my forehead, I didn't even have to ask to figure out that I had a high fever. I pulled away _I don't know this girl!_ How come I had never seen her? I knew the ins and outs of this neighborhood and I had never met her? She looked at me with her brows furrowed. "who are you." it didn't take long for me to figure out she had an accent, not strong but it was there. I looked at her with a glare that I was still trying to master. She stood her ground not moving until she got an answer. "Daryl, what yer's?" Trying to imitate Merles intimidating voice. I frowned seeing by the look on her face that I had failed to make her squirm. She stared at me a while doing to me what I was doing to her, trying to figure out _who the hell is this person, why have I not seen them before and, why do they look so strange?_

She stuck her mud covered hand out for me to shake: "Zoe." I reached and shook it for a second before pulling my hand back like i had gotten burned. She furrowed her brow again looking at the blood on my face. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up. I fell a little, not realizing until now just how hungry and sick I felt. I tried to walk only to stumble and have her grab my shoulders to keep me from falling over. I hated people helping me, not because I was a Dixon... just cuz i could take care of myself. I tried to get her to let go but she had such an iron grip i was sure she was going to leave me some bruises.

She tugged me towards her so that we were face to face making me stare into those big pools of jade. She moved her fingers so that she was holding my hand, and it made me feel awkward. She stared at me as if she was trying to talk to me through her mind. She stared at me letting go of my hand for a second. "Daryl I think your going to be okay." I looked at her strangely, how could she tell. "I mean I really think your going to be okay, I can help you and then everything will be okay. You just have to trust me."


	2. An Old and Broken Doll House

**Sorry, you guys that are actually reading this when i posted it at first i made the spin off walking the dead instead of walking dead. I posted this story at 12:00 in the morning i didn't notice, sorry for any confusion. Anyways hope you like it please comment would love to hear some feedback, first fanfic. Enjoy!**

Zoe's POV

"Where did you see him hija?" I looked at my mama who was still cleaning our overly tiny kitchen with a pathetic little torn dish rag. "Um, He was sleeping by a tree." She looked at me with deep dark brown eyes that made you shrink under their gaze. "Really?... I haven't ever seen him around here." I shifted a little in my chair, knowing that the longer I didn't say anything the quicker she would realize I was hiding something. "Did he just move here?" Without thinking I let my big mouth run: "No, his house is probably close to the woods. You know the neighborhood with all the old houses." My mom paused for a second before going back to drying the pot she had used to cook dinner. "what is a nehborood?" My mama didn't know very good english, working at a diner for a long time didn't really help. "A neighborhood is um... un barrio." She looked at me and put down the pot she was holding : " Is this close to the truck stop?" I shrunk down in my chair a little, I knew the rules. I could never _ever, _go anywhere near the truck stop. Mama never really said why, maybe she was afraid I would get lost being only five. She looked at me with a cocked eyebrow I always dreaded. "Zoe, Salome, Angeles. I told you before never to go any where close to de truck stop." I furrowed my eyebrow and picked at the dry mud on my hands. She pushed a little strand of hair behind my ear : " don't you ever go over there again, it would break my heart to see you get hurt." _Oh, so that was it she was afraid of, that would get hit by a truck. _I looked her in the eyes and smiled : "I promise mama." But that was a lie, not just a lie, a big fat ugly lie. She smiled back at me pulling her hair up in a ponytail. She grabbed her jacket from the door knob, I knew what that meant. I frowned and got up from the stool and stood in between her and the door. "Where are you going mama?" she looked at me smiling a little bit. "Hija, you know I have to work, papa is not here any more, and Raphael…" I knew how that sentence ended, Raphael, my brother, stayed behind in Mexico. Mama once again never really said why, just that he couldn't come with us, I also remember how bad she was crying on our drive here. "Okay mama what about the boy?" She looked over to my bedroom where the boy was sleeping, he had passed out the second he got in the door. She smiled : "you can watch the house while I am gone, if he is hungry share the leftovers." I rolled my eyes, I had just learned to do that and mama did not like it. I hated when mama had to leave for work it made her tired and it made me feel lonely. She smiled feeling guilty for having to leave me...again. But she walked out the door anyways closing and locking it behind her. I sighed, _great another night by myself locked in the house with nothing to do. _I walked into my room frowning to see the boy still sleeping in _my_ bed, well I guess that means I would be sleeping with mama tonight. I opened my closet quietly and took out the guitar case that lay there, picking it up and carrying it out to the living room/kitchen. The second I opened it I smiled, all the memories of papa that were there made me feel happy and sad at the same time, I called it sappy. Picking up the guitar I mindlessly played the classical spanish music papa had always played. I was still trying to get better at the long songs he used to play, but I had mastered the lullaby he used to play for me. He had reminded me my fingers were too tiny, my hands would blister but I could try. At that moment I heard a groan from my room and I stopped playing. Just great the boy was having bad dreams. Well mama said to watch the house and I couldn't let her down.

Daryl's POV

_I shivered in bed, god its cold ma must've left the window open again so daddy could smoke in the house. I got up from the bed to see Merle was still sleeping, and I knew better than to wake him up. I looked up at the window that I knew I was too short to reach. My feet walked across the cold ground making the floor creak as I shivered in the cold air. I reached the spare closet and opened it trying to grab a blanket by stepping on the bottom shelf. My fingers stretched as far as they could go before I felt my feet slip and my footing fall from beneath me. My head hit the floor and the rest of my body slowly following suit. I opened my eyes blinking only to be blinded by forming tears. I started whimpering and sniffling, that hurt, that hurt A LOT! I could hear my ma walking down the hallway, the sound of her bare feet hitting the ground getting closer. I couldn't get up the shelf had landed on me and it was too heavy for me to lift. _

_I looked up into my mothers deep blue eyes framed by her dark auburn hair and I knew everything was going to be okay, my ma was there she would take care of me. She lifted the wooden shelf off me with ease and I buried my chest in her arms breathing in her smell. "Oh baby what happened?" she said in her soothing voice. I looked up at her my cheeks wet from tears. "I was cold and I was try'n to get a blanket but I fell." She shushed me and rocked me back and forth in her arms, "its okay doodle bug mama's here, you're gonna be okay baby", she would say kissing my small head. I looked at her with big blue watery eyes and a shaky voice : "how do ya know?" She smiled down at me with her glowing freckled face : "Because baby, I promise you I will do everythin' I can to make it okay, and baby…" she said wiping tears from my face : "I never break my promises."_

I opened my eyes to a room I had never been in before, it was dark outside the window and the room was cold. I shivered a little trying to grab my dream back, but it was gone, all I could remember was the pain in my head that wasn't going away now. I groaned feeling that my nose was probably broken or horribly bruised. I was laying somewhere in a bed that was for a person my size but clearly not for me sense the covers were purple with a blue whale on it. I suddenly remember where I was, Î remembered the fall, the tree, the girl and everything else before. I was about to drift back to sleep when I heard the sound of a guitar from somewhere outside the room. I had never heard something so beautiful and so warming in a long time, almost like a voice singing you to sleep. I tried to sit up but the pain in my head was too much and I groaned again a little too loud apparently and I heard the music stop. I close my eyes trying to get the pain to go away but it was reminiscing in my skull and making me want to cry.

I heard light foot steps getting closer to me until the girl I remembered from earlier was standing at the doorway. Getting a look at her she was almost the same as he remembered her. Same dark hair, light eyes, tanned skin but there was something different about her something about how she was looking at me. She walked up to me forcing myself to sit up, I hated feeling small. "Did I wake you up?" she said as if she was a little scared that I would say yes. I shook my head and and moved my body so that I faced her. "Do you need something?" I just shook my head again, I knew I was being a horrible guest but I couldn't concentrate past the pain in my head. "Tell me if you need anything ' she said pushing her hair behind her ear. She was about to leave but I had to ask. "Was that you play'n guitar?" she looked at me and I could tell that she was blushing which was weird, why would anyone be ashamed to be able to play like that? "Um...please don't tell my mama" she said looking at her feet like they were the most interesting things in the world. "You play good" I said trying to avoid eye contact, that was one thing that made me painfully uncomfortable, ma had always said I was the shy type. She looked up at me so fast you would think she heard a gunshot. "I do?" I rolled my eyes, _oh this is ridiculous of course you play good, _but I didn't say that instead I just looked at her and nodded: "you weren't bother'n me you can keep play'n if ya want." She looked at me and smiled, it was only then did I notice she had slight dimples. "Do you want me to play for you?" I could feel my face get hot. "Not _for me_, just if ya wanna, ya' can play in here, don't have to go to the other side of the house." It wasn't until then that I realized that there were only 3 rooms in the apartment making me feel like an idiot. I knew the feeling when someone talks about something you aren't really proud of, like Merle when his "friends" would talk about our folks. That was the only time he would get quiet . "what was your name?" I smirked which is something I was trying to do less it made me look like Merle, not someone I liked being compared to. But then I remembered, she had no idea who Merle was, or my parents, heck for all she knows I fell from the sky..._and she took care of me anyways_. "Daryl...I know its a stupid name" I had always hated that name, as if the kids in the neighborhood didn't already know I was redneck enough. She scoffed "I have heard worse, my last name is angeles, it means angel. You have no idea how many people made fun of me because of that." I looked at her a little puzzled, "why would someone make fun of you for being named after an angel?" I could tell she was trying to look at anything besides my face, guess she's shy too. "Because back in mexico, everyone called me pequeño diablo." I looked at her, having no idea what that ment made me feel a little stupid. Apparently she noticed I had no idea what she was talking about : "sorry, it means little de...how do you say the thing with the horns and fire?" she said her face a deep shade of red, making me feel bad for embarrassing her. "The devil?" I asked knowing a thing or two from church which I used to go to. "Yeah...sorry my english is not very good" she said barely making out a mumble. "So you don't mind if I play in here? " she looked at me with hopeful eyes practically begging me not to say no. I shook my head and before I knew it she ran out of the room as fast as humanly possible, only to come back a second later with an acoustic guitar gripped hard in her hand. It was very pretty, with dancing skeletons and flowers carved into the wood and stained a burnt orange color. She sat down next to me, resting the guitar on her knee _god its almost bigger than her!_ I shook my head there was no way she could play that thing, but once again I was wrong. Zoe began moving her fingers that had scabs on them from overworking the calluses, plucking at the strings delicately playing the song from earlier. While she played I couldn't help but notice that there were words written on the back of the wood, but it was in spanish, and I didn't want to ask, afraid of seeming nosey. So I just layed my head against the headboard listening to the music play, _god_ I could almost swear it sounded like a lullaby. It reminded me of my ma, she had the most beautiful voice in the world, even when she wasn't singing.

"_There you go doodle bug that should help your head." Ma wrapped the bag of ice in a dish rag and laid it on the top of my head. I looked up at her while laying in my bed with a old quilt on top of my comforter. "Does that feel better baby?" I nodded my head grinning at my ma, noticing how we had the same eyes. It kinda made me feel better, when grandma came over last before she died she had said how much I looked like my ma. I remember how proud I had been to look like her. But I still don't understand how anyone can be as pretty as my ma. I felt her soft lips give me a kiss on the head before she started singing me the song I always loved_

"_little boy made of clay_

_see through the rain _

_as if it were _

_a clear cloudless day._

_you walk alone_

_yet you sit_

_on your own wooden throne._

_approach a river to fast_

_and too strong to cross_

_with your little legs_

_just look up at the sky_

_and know that you can fly_

_fly far away_

_and if you fall, i'll catch you_

_because your my only_

_i could never make anew_

_if i lost my little clay boy"_

Zoe's POV

I looked over at the boy to notice that he had fallen back asleep. I yawned lazily resting my head on the body of the guitar thinking about the boy and his family. _What would they look like? A perfect family. _Images ran through my mind of his perfect mama with bright blue eyes the color of blue crayons, she would have beautiful golden hair like the girl in that story. _What was it? _ I think her name was gobblylogs or something weird like that, anyways she had long beautiful gold hair and pink apple cheeks. The papa would look something like prince charming, shiny black hair dimples and smiling eyes. I read about them in a kids book, an american kids book. The stories were strange and not anything like the ones I had read. Stories about girls meeting talking frogs that turned into people, and girls sleeping on peas. However in all fairness they also taught me things like how to be brave against everything from wolves to people, while wandering alone in the woods. I looked down at the boy again, his old worn clothes, the bandage on his head and the furrowed brow he had when he slept and I remembered that there really wasn't such a thing as fairy tales. Thats why the only story I was ever told was of a women who would never stop crying, because she had killed her children and herself. I sighed and put the guitar back into the closet under the garbage bag of clothes I kept in there. I hated keeping them in there, kinda makes you feel like garbage, but thats all I had, considering my closet was actually the water heater room. Sighing I slowly walked to my mamas room to see a HUGE cockroach on her pillow. I am not normally scared of bugs, but when I was 3 some older girls told me that cockroaches crawl into your head and ate your insides. SLAM! No way, no way in the world was I going to sleep in there. I walked away from the room very slowly afraid that the slightest sound would send wave after wave of pests sliding from beneath the door to chew on my skin. My feet found the familiar torn thin carpet of my room letting my small toes run themselves through the carpet to make sure its real. I breathed deeply like mama did when she was angry or had just slammed her finger into something hard. I stared at Daryl debating weather or not I should make the stupid and cowardly move to sleep in here instead of in my moms room. _Please god keep me and Daryl safe tonight and let us live through the night. When mama comes home please let her kill the horrible cucaracha in her room before it eats my brains, thank you. _Preying was something mama had stopped doing a long time ago, I do not know why but I think it has to do with Raphael. I still do especially when I am scared because only a greater power can help a little girl defeat something as terrifying as a cockroach. I was exhausted and I thought if I did not lay down I would pass out then and there. Daryl wasn't a toddler or anything but he still didn't take up my entire bed, I could sleep there. Picking up a quilt that smelled of mothballs from the base of my bed, I made a nest around myself, more of a barrier from the Daryl a boy I knew very little of. I let myself drift into sleep and slowly I realized that the image of the perfect family was slowly starting to drift away, only to be replaced by images of bugs eating away every bit of my body until I am dust.


	3. Again

**Okay guys, so this chapter starts getting really violent and emotional, and has some mentions in the beginning of domestic beating and child abuse. I promise the entire story is not going to be like this but this part was kinda necessary. Well hope you enjoy anyways. And I don't own the walking dead or any other existing products, no matter how much I wish I did (:**

Daryl's POV

_I whipped my head around, where was she oh god, no. I could feel the ball of fear in my throat, gripping my windpipe, choking me. I whimpered trying to fight the tears threatening to tear themselves from my eyes down my cheek. "Ya think you're a dixon? I would shoot my fuck'n head off with ya granddaddy's rifle, before I call you a'son of mine." My mom trying to defend me: "Ben please, leave Daryl alone, just sit down. Please, just...Merle get your brother and go." A ruff hand grabbed my wrist: "Daryl come on, we gotta go." I tried to pull against him but he was too strong. _

"_Ben please, hon' you had too much to drink just go lay down." _

"_Don' tell me whata do , move your fat ass I got'a tell ur' son somethin'." _

"_GOD DAMMIT! BEN JUST PLEASE LEAVE THEM ALONE."_

"_NO! BOY'S GOTTA LEARN SOMEHOW, NOW MOVE BITCH"_

"_NO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!"_

_At that point everything was moving so fast, Merle dragging me towards the door, ma screaming at dad who was screaming back at her, all in a big blur around me. That was until daddy made a fist grabbed mom around the waist and punched her, in the stomach, hard. Thats when it all got slow, ma dropped to the floor, dad kicking her in the nose and I watched in terror as her head rolled back unconscious, and blood started draining from her nose down her face. _

_I watched my daddy kneel down to punch her in the face again his strong fist colliding into her face again, and again. Until he got up and kicked her in the stomach, thats when the real thing hit me: "Ya think I din' know ya' fuck'n cunt?! I can ALWAYS tell when someone's lyin' ta me. How da ya think I noticed you was knocked up? Does he like that? HUH?!" He said punching her again. All the sudden Merle threw me back and ran towards him screaming at the top of his lungs "FUCK"N BASTARD!" Punching my daddy over and over again, as they wrestled on the ground punching and kicking each other over and over again. _

_All I could think of was my ma. I ran over to her weeping and I buried my face into her chest. I could feel the blood from her nose drip warm onto my head. "No ma, please don't die, no, no, Merle help me! MERLE!" I only had time enough to turn around and see my daddy and Merle punching each other, to the point where both their faces were so covered in blood you couldn't tell one from the other and it scared me so bad. I was shaking from sobbing so hard, and I just buried myself deeper into my ma's chest, I couldn't watch. I was sure she was dead, almost positive and then I felt it. A wet shaky hand stroking the back of my head, slightly pulling me closer to her chest. "don't...watch baby...don't look..mama's here...look away." I heaved heavy sobs as my small body collapsed on top of her. "Ma make it go away please, make daddy stop." I said almost hyperventilating in between sniffs. I could hear the choking in her voice when she spoke in whispers to me again: "I can't baby, i'm sorry I can't." I could hear it behind me, daddy had Merle pinned down I could tell by the gasps of air from Merle and the sound of a fist hitting his face, over, and , over again. _

Zoe's POV

I woke to a light kick to my shin, groaning I cupped my calf, it didn't hurt it just woke me up. Were those whimpers? Blinking open my eyes I could see Daryl was squirming in his dream. "Daryl...Daryl wake up." "No ma...no." He was mumbling something in his sleep, _why were his cheeks shiney? Was he crying?_ What was I was supposed to do, the blanket hit the floor and my hands grabbed at his shoulders. "Daryl wake up, wake up…." He wasn't moving, why wasn't he waking up? "Mama! Mama." That got a fire under my mama, whenever I called her name like that she would come running. She threw the door open looking at me quickly, obviously trying to see if I was hurt. "What is...?" She was cut short by a sob coming from Daryl's mouth, he was now curled up into a little ball. Her eyes got wide and she pulled the sheets off him, and pulled them out of his grip where he had been grabbing them in his fists.

That woke him up, only for us to be met by his wet crying eyes, and red cheeks. He was still crying, so I suppose thats when mama went into her "mode". Thats what I called it, she couldn't resist not helping those in pain. She wrapped her arms around Daryl who completely collapsed under her touch and began heaving. It was like he didn't even remember she was a total stranger, he just buried his head in her arms and sobbed like something terrible had just happened. She stroked his hair gently and placed a soft gentle kiss on his forehead. He cried like that for a while until his sobbs became sniffles, but he never moved from where he was. Mama stroked his back through the entire time, and occasionally placed a kiss on his head. "I'm gonna go get you some water, will you be okay for now?" He nodded his head and she slowly pulled away.

I looked at him, he wasn't crying anymore he just looked sad and very scared. "Did you have a bad dream?", he sniffled and then nodded, I guess he wasn't much of a talker. Thats okay, its not like I can speak his language very well anyways. "S-sorry, ta' bother ya guys." He started getting off the bed when I grabbed his wrist. "You don't have to go if you don't want to, you're the only one I have met who…please don't go just yet. Stay for breakfast." "Okay", he said flatly, I thought about telling him he was the only kid I had met in america, at least the only one who would talk to me without being mean. I decided not to, the last thing I wanted was to be made fun of. "Okay, but after that I should get goin' home." I smiled and wrapped my arms around him giving him a big bear hug. He tensed the second I got close to him but after a while he relaxed. I let go of him and looked at him, he seemed a little bit better but still like he was scared of something. "You know what I do when I have bad dreams?" He looked at me as if he really was hoping for a magical spell to take away whatever he was thinking about, which I didn't have. "Whatever it is that I'm scared of, I imagine myself bigger and stronger than it. Then crushing it and beating it up again and again, until its gone. That way when you really see it you won't be as scared. You might not be able to beat them but at least you could be ready enough to run away." He looked at me for a second, with a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes. I have never been very good at reading people, but I could tell he was hopeful. Daryl seemed like a nice boy, I hope whatever was scaring him would go away.

"Do you like books?" He nodded looking over to my "bookshelf" that was actually a pile of 3 books in the corner of my ridiculously small bedroom. "I never… I can't really read well", his ears turned red and it began spreading to his cheeks. "You don't have to, these books are in spanish so I would have to read them to you anyways." "No, its okay you don't have to," I smiled taking his hand and gently pulling him over to the pile. "I want to I have to practice anyways." Walking over to the pile I grabbed the small pile of books and spread them over the floor, secretly hoping he would not pick la llorona, the book scared the heck out of me. He looked over the covers that included one with a crying women by the river, one with a girl in a red cape standing in front of a very big drooling wolf with huge teeth, and a green book with the words Yertle la tortuga otherwise known as yertle the turtle.

He gently picked up the green book and handed it to me. I smiled : "have you ever read this before?" He nodded and moved so that he was sitting against the bed with me so that he could see the pictures. I looked over to him seeing the eagerness in his eyes. "I have never read this book is it good?" " Yeah, its a little weird when you try to read it but I like the pictures." "Do you think...do you think you could do something for me?" He looked at me a little confused "mhm" he said nodding. "Do you think that sense I cannot, write in english that maybe you could write it for me...so I could practice?" I looked down at the book trying not to let him see my already red face. "Sure, you got somthin' ta write with?" I grinned at him nodding my head and pulling a crayon called olive green from my pocket and handing it to him. "I might not be the best at this, my writing ain't very good." I shrugged opening the book to the first page.

Daryl's POV

"SILENCIO ! El rey de las Tortugas ladró de nuevo . Yo soy el rey , y tú sólo eres una tortuga llamada Mack. SILENCE! the King of the Turtles barked back. I'm king, and you're only a turtle named Mack." My hand was moving as fast as it possibly could but not matter how many times I had read this story I would never be able to write as fast as she was reading. _Silence! the king of the tertles barcked bak. i'm king and your onley a tertle named Mack. _God, I hope I spelled that right. I was glad that I could help her, I had almost completely forgot about my dream, they would come and go and fade away like clouds.

I whipped my head around when I felt a warm hand lightly rest on my shoulder. It was just Zoe's mom, she reminds me a lot of my ma, she makes you feel safe when you're around her no matter how bad your feeling. "Breakfast is ready hija if you want to go and set the table", clearly talking to Zoe. She looked a little hesitant at first but in the end she agreed giving me a smile and left the room. "What was your name?", she said squeezing my shoulder a little. "Daryl…" I knew the second I said it that it had come out as a mumble but I couldn't help it. It's true that I get a little quiet around any new people, only because daddy would always tell me never to trust any one who wasn't named dixon...even my ma. I still talked to her anyways, I trusted her more than my daddy. "Well Daryl I hope I am saying that right, you can stay if you want you are always welcome here." She was nice, I wish that she could meet my ma, they're almost the same. "Thank you but I should go home, my ma will get worried." She smiled wrapping her arms around me, kinda the way ma's do. "Are you okay", she said this kinda quietly so that Zoe wouldn't hear I guess. I nodded grinning the best I could, I didn't wanna leave, this is the best place I had been in a while. I wanted to tell her that I wanted to tell her that but daddys always said a Dixon never asks for help, that makes you a pu...a pu, a pully? I don't remember but he made it sound like something bad. "Okay, you can stay for breakfast or you can go now, come back whenever you want." I tried to grin but I could feel my happiness began to fade. My daddy was not going to like the fact that I didn't come home yesterday.

Zoe's POV

"Do you have to go?" He nodded his head slowly as though it was a painful thing to do. If he hadn't told me otherwise I would say that he didn't want to leave. "How far away do you live?" I couldn't let him leave he was nice, and the only friend I had, why did he have to leave now? "Don't know, how far away is this place from the truck stop?" I could hear myself swallow, _did he live near the truck stop? _"Uh, pretty far now that you mention it, but if you go through the woods a certain way you can get near there pretty fast." He looked at me a little sideways, "um, actually I can make it home by myself." He started to turn around towards the tiny creek that was in the back of our apartment in the woods. I had to say goodbye, this will not be the last time I see him. I grabbed him in a big bear hug, not wanting to let go. "Come back please? Make it soon, I have to see you again, there is so much we can do; exploring, reading, anything you want." "Okay I can come back soon, maybe then we can read more of yertle the turtle." I beamed at him and nodded. "Bye, Zoe", I felt my smile starting to melt like ice cream after its been in the sun for a long time. "Bye Daryl", he would be back again, he promised, Daryl is my friend, he would never break his promise.


	4. No pain, it just goes away

**Hey, all you awesome people who are reading this. So in this chapter there are mentions of drugs but thats about all rated M stuff for this chapter. Don't worry, I know you are tired of young Daryl, but I am only gonna use him at such a young age for a few more chapters. Oh, and feel free to comment, or shoot me a message, would love to hear ideas and/or feed back. Well don't let me keep you waiting, let the reading commence (:**

Merle's POV

"_MERLE!", My head whipped around to my dad who was stumbling through the screen in porch. Alex finally had shut-up about the chick he supposedly fucked, he was a liar but we all knew he was dealing with tough shit. 7th grade and the bastard already had to take care of his mom by himself. "THE FUCK SON? I WAS SUPPOSED TO WAKE UP WITH ALL THIS SHIT DONE ALREADY!" My head was not in the right spot right now, fuck the joint and as I pulled it outa my mouth, I jumped off the porch and onto my bike, I had to go, just until he calmed down, my mind was in a hundred places, I had to go get Daryl god he would just be getting outa school right about now. Wait...shit, shit, shit, shit. Today was Sunday, he's still probably playing in the backyard. No, no, no, no god Daryl hang in there. My legs were burning I was pedaling so fast, my lungs were about to pump outa my chest and my head was spinning. My house was getting closer and I could see my dad shootin back whisky from a stupid rusty flask. I didn't even put the kickstand down, just jumped off the bike and sprinted to the backyard. He wasn't there, Daryl wasn't there just a dumb ass book called "The Lorax". I looked down at the book to see blood drip stains on the page it was open to. I felt all the color drain from my face, I felt like throwing up, how could I let this happen? I ran to the front of the house ta see dad chucking the empty flask at a tree and mumbling something under his breath. He looked up at me and smiled an evil grin "Hey ,how bout'em peach schnapps right'bout now." He was slurring so bad, he was drunk, and I knew what he could do when he was drunk, better this way, gives me nightmares the things he does when he's sober. He looked out over ta the flask laying on the ground and gestured for me ta go get it. I could feel the heat rise in my head as I blindly walked over to the stupid fuckers flask. The flask was covered in dirt and something else, blood and two or three short dark brown hairs. Thats when I lost it, Daryl was the only one in the whole fucking family that was even remotely brunette. I grabbed the flask and threw it hard through the windshield of my dad's truck. "GO GET IT YOURSELF YA STUPID DRUNK FUCKER!" I stormed off to the woods behind our house. "DARYL! DARYL!" Where was he? He was normally hiding back here when dad would get that bad. "DARYL, ya don't have ta hide its Merle, ya can come out now." He didn't answer, he wasn't there. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, tears of anger, of rage, fear, terror. "DARYL!"_

I woke up, heart racing, mind numb and running at the same time, my cheeks were wet from tears, and bed soaked from sweat. God, was Daryl back? I looked over to the side of the room where his "bed" was. It really was just a mattress not anything fancy, mine was just sofa cushions duct taped together. My old mattress got burned by a stupid cigarette my dad made me smoke. Afraid of my father, and ma had her own problems. Our room was meant to be a dining room but it was still oddly small and uncomfortable. I don't tell no one, but I like having Daryl in my room. Makes it easier to keep an eye on him, make sure the old man stays far away. When I have nightmares and I wake up like this I just look over at Daryls face, knowing he's okay, that he sleeps fine makes me feel better. But seeing the empty mattress just makes me feel so much worse, the dreams aren't getting better. Ma found out without me wanting her to. She's a light sleeper, so one night when Daryl was still just a baby she heard me when I woke up screaming and crying, I was seven, and now I am 13 and they haven't gone away. I ran to the bathroom and vomited in the sink. The dreams were just, too much, too much for me to want to deal with, the worst part is they were real. I washed it down the drain and sat on the side of the tub. I couldn't take it, I couldn't take this anymore, I didn't want the dreams, I didn't want this life. I walked back to by bedroom unable to sleep, there was just too much pain. Then I remembered, I remembered what Michael had been talking about. _It just goes away, all the things you're thinking it just, goes away_, _no pain, no stress, just sleep. _I gulped, my throat was dry just from the thought, I couldn't do it what would ma think if she ever found out. The thought of her laying on the floor blood everywhere as Daryl cried into her chest, the guilty look she had, like it was her fault. I remember at how at that moment I didn't care at all that my dad was punching me in the gut over and over, I didn't care that I was in a ball on the floor getting the shit beaten out of me. I only cared about what he did to my ma, what was going to happen to Daryl. I layed my head on my arms and cried, why couldn't I help them why was this happening? I reached into my pant pocket lying on the floor and pulled out the heroin that Michael had given me. The needle looked sharp, looked dangerous, the most I had ever done was pot, and that was only once or twice when Michael had one to spare. But I had no other choice, no other chance of making all it go away. I left it on my bed and walked to the laundry room that was at the moment full of dads shit. I grabbed a pair of pants lying on the dryer and look one of dads beating belts from out of the loop. Once I was sitting on my bed I wrapped the belt around my arm nice and tight, took the needle and shoved it in my arm. It didn't even hurt, as I shot the drug inta me. I took the belt from around my arm and just sat there, at first not feeling anything. I threw the needle to the other side of the room and heard the glass break as it hit the wall. Then I felt it, _no pain, no stress, just sleep, it just...goes away. _

Daryl's POV

_How long have I been walking, its been hours maybe longer. _My feet felt bruised and I was hungry, thirsty, why didn't I stay for breakfast? I looked around and suddenly I realized that I had been here before right after my daddy...I knew where I was my house was just past those tree's. I ran past the trees and up the crappy small house that was mine. My book wasn't in the backyard where I left it, ma probably picked it up for me. _Wait, ma, MA! _I had so much to tell her, about the book I was reading, Yertle the Turtle, about who liked to be called Blanka, and her daughter Zoe who was my new, friend. _Zoe...I have a friend_. I have never been able to say that, the only friends I have are the animals in the forest, and even those daddy shoots and kills, he told me not to like them because they were food and nothing but "fucking animals, waitin'ta get their brains shot out". So I stopped thinking of them as my friends, ma would love it knowing that I had a friend. I ran into the house, ma was probably hungery I should bring her something. I opened the pantry and got out the bread, peanut butter, and Jelly. I made the sandwiches, one for me, and one for ma, crusts cut off and cut into four triangles like how she makes them for me. I walked to my parents room to see her laying in bed all bruised and bandaged, she fixed herself up, daddy never let her go to the doctor for her bruises and cuts. I walked over to her and put the plates on the nightstand. "Ma...ma wake-up" I said tugging on the covers a little bit. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times before she smiled, I still think she looks pretty even with the black eye, the little bump on her nose, and the busted lip. "Hi baby, where have you been?" she said sleepily moving over to the side so I could sit next to her. "I've made a friend ma, I met her yesterday in the woods." She smiled at me pulling me to her side where I rested my head on her chest. "You did, I made a friend too, but tell me about your friend first." That's what I always like about ma, she always wants to hear my stories and hang out with me, even when Merle says i'm too much of a kid for him and his friends, and daddy tells me to fuck off. Even though I don't know what that means I don't like hanging out with him anyways. "Her name is Zoe, she has dark long hair, green eyes, tan skin, I think she's spanish have you ever seen her before?" My ma gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze "no, i haven't doodle bug tell me more." "She speaks spanish and she's not very good at speaking english, but she's getting better. Anyways she let me go over to her house yesterday because I was bleeding and her and her ma fixed me up like you do. She plays guitar but she doesn't tell her mama, she never really said why. Anyways she has a book called Yertle the turtle that we were reading together, we never got to finish but I told her that I would go back sometime." My ma was grinning real wide, probably because she could tell I wasn't making this up, that I really did have a friend and someone to play with. "Well I am happy for you she sounds like a really nice girl, do you want to hear about my friend?" I nodded and curled my arms into her chest. "Well, I don't know nearly as much about her as you know about your friend. She's a lot younger then you and merle so you're going to have to be gentle with her. Merle can take her to school and the park. You can read her stories and play with her, I think you two would get along." Thats weird how come I had never heard of this girl either? "Who is she? How come I have never seen her before?" My ma smiled at me "well, because she's just a little baby, and she is going to be your baby sister. She lives in here." she put my hand on her belly and thats when I figured it out, my ma was pregnant she was going to have a little baby. I smiled real big and hugged my ma. "Really? You mean, i'm really going to have a baby sister?" My ma nodded at me. "Do you think you can be nice to her?" I couldn't stop grinning at the idea of having someone else to play with. "Yes ma, yes! I can read her Dr. seuss books, and we can go the park, Merle can take us. If she is half you then she is gonna be real pretty too, with a pretty singin' voice." "Oh i'm sure she is going to be her own little person too, she probably won't be _just _like me, but yes she will look like me, a little bit." I smiled thinking of my new baby sister with ma's red hair and blue eyes, making me realise that she would look a little like peppermint patty from charlie brown. "What's her name gonna me ma?" She looked down at me and smiled : "oh I don't know. Maybe you could name her." My mouth dropped open _could i? Was she serious? _"Can I ma? really?" She nodded at me kissing my head. "Of course you can sweetheart, so whats it gonna be?" I thought about it for a second. "Well, you know how when I was little you would take me to that old playground that no one ever went too because it was really old and everyone forgot about it? Well thats about half way between me and Zoe's house, so when we went she noticed these flowers that were growing everywhere. She said they were called irises. And they looked like the color of your eyes ma, so ya'know i figure, since the name was pretty and the baby is gonna look like you we could name her iris?" She smiled down at me and put her own hand on her belly. "I think that is a beautiful name darlin." She reached over me and grabbed the pb and j I made for her. "Sweety did you make this?" I nodded and I could feel myself blush. "oh baby, you know I love pb and j. thank you doodle bug." She said quickly devouring the entire sandwich very quickly and putting the plate back on the nightstand. "Hey baby, can I ask you to do something?" I looked up at my ma: "yes ma?" "Do you think that your friend zoe, can she stay a secret between you and me?" I looked up at her and my happiness began to fade. "why?" I said and I could feel the ball began to build up in my throat. "oh baby, I would love nothing more than for you to be able to bring her over and play. But sweety I don't…" she stopped for a second before swallowing hard. "Your daddy doesn't like people like her…" I felt my lip start to quiver, this wasn't fair, why could Merle bring his friends over and they could play and talk and spend the whole day together but i couldn't? "but why? What did she do?" My ma's eyes got real shiney like she was going to cry, _no ma I didn't want to make you cry. _"She didn't do anything baby its just...your daddy doesn't like...he isn't a very understanding person, and I don't want Zoe to get hurt." She said before forcing a smile and wiping tears from her eyes. " oh honey, come here" she said wrapping her arms around me I completely collapsed and just layed there on her chest whimpering and sniffling. After a few minutes she kissed my head and tried her best to explain: "Do you remember in that book that I used to read you a long time ago called horton hears a who?" I nodded remembering how funny I thought the pictures looked. "How Horton cared so much for the who's that everyone else though wasn't real. He knew they were real and nice people and he was there friend but the other animals were mean to horton and tried to destroy the flower that they lived on to prove that he was wrong." I nodded and tried to understand what she was talking about. "Well think of it like this, your daddy is like the other animals, he thinks that because people like your friend Zoe are different then him they shouldn't exist. Your like Horton, you are friends with Zoe even though she's different than you and that is a good thing. But if your daddy knew you were friends with Zoe or that Zoe was real then, he would...hurt Zoe and you just to prove he was right, and I don't want that to happen." I understood, I think I had to keep Zoe, me and ma's little secret. "So how do I keep her safe?" I wasn't strong enough, no matter how many times I tried to defend people I love against my daddy. "You have to keep this a secret and pretend that like in Horton hears a who, that Zoe really is make believe." I understood, Zoe was a delicate little who, and I was horton, and I had to protect her and my ma no matter what.

Zoe's POV

It had been 3 months, three months to the day that I had not seen Daryl. I remembered what he said, he said he would come back soon. At first I had thought he would be back the next day, so I waited at my window and waited, and he never showed. Then weeks passed, then a month and now I think he's gone. I was walking through the forest probably deeper than I should, but mama was at work now, a lot. She would leave at around 7 and not come home until around 10 at night. I never got to see her anymore she would never talk when I was around, and I had no friends. Thinking about it made me sad, why does everyone hate me, what did I do? I sighed and I realized that I had reached the part of the forest where I had first found Daryl, walking straight forward I walked past that point to the field of Irises we had found. Then I noticed, there were houses not far from here, could Daryl live here? I started walking up the hill and then I heard it, crying. There was a woman sitting on the swing, not swinging, just crying. I sighed, she was really pretty, dark red hair, bright blue eyes, smooth skin with freckles, her dress was not new, but atleast she looked nice. I walked over to her and when she noticed me she smiled and wiped her tears away. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Julie's POV

"_Ma make it go away please, make daddy stop." _What kind of mother was I? What kind of mother lets her husband beat her and her kids, to the point where they were begging for her help and she couldn't do anything, me, thats the terrible mother I am. I collapsed on the old swing crying into my hands. How could I bring a baby into this world? Why would I bring a baby into this world, I couldn't do it. Not with Ben being around, he would kill it while I was sleeping. He almost killed Daryl when he turned out to have brown hair, both our family's have blonde or red hair, blue eyes. There was no way he was Daryl's father, or the father to this baby. Merle, definitely his, was a spitting image of Ben's father, John. I loved that man, don't know how such a person like John and his wife Lorali make such a bastard for a son, like Ben. Daryl, no he looked like me, but he had his father's hair, his father's nose, the cheekbones, lips, not an exact image, but I saw a little bit more of Marco in him every day. The thing I feared most, was that this baby came out looking exactly like Marco, even for a drunk it won't be hard for Ben to mistake a Italian baby, black hair, brown eyes, pale smooth skin, for a southern Georgia baby blonde, blue eyes, and freckles.

I could feel another wave of tears coming, this was the only place I could really cry. If I cried anywhere in the house I would get found. If Merle found me it was always _What did he do ta ya ma? Where is the old fucking bastard?! _Merle always tried protecting me, going after Ben when he would come home from the bar, maybe he would land a punch or two, but in the end my brave boy would come out bloody, while ben would only get a bruise on his chest. Daryl had never seen me cry, I had to stay strong for him, for my sweet baby boy. So I would come out here where no one would bother to look, cry until I could get it together and then go home. I heard rustling in front of me, and I saw a little girl. She was around Daryl's age, black-looking hair, tan skin, and green eyes. She was wearing a huge ed harding shirt that came down past her knee caps, and under that were rainbow leggings and yellow eeyore socks, with mud covered torn sneakers, her hair done up in little pigtails. I smiled at how cute she looked, thinking that maybe some day my little girl would probably look like that. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and she came over to sit on the swing next to me, and began swaying her legs to get the swing going. She wasn't going very fast, not at all. "What's your name?" She said with her head leaned back to look at the sky. "Julie, Julie Dixon, what's yours?" She kept looking at the sky smiling : "Zoe, Zoe Angeles". A light bulb went off in my head, _Zoe as in Daryl's friend? Daryl's only friend? _"Hey little miss, do you know a boy named Daryl?" Her said snapped back at me, she jumped off the swing in mid air landing in a squat on her feet. "Yes, I do. He was the boy I found in the woods, do you know him?"


	5. Iris Part1- Help will come one day

Merle's POV

Life is hell. I am not saying that just to have a fucking pity party for ma self, but really, my life has not ever been worse. That shit that Michael gave me worked, knocked you right out, not before you felt your whole body felt like it was floating off your mattress. You can't stop taking it, I can't stop taking it, or the dreams come back. I'm 5'1 and I went from being 102 pounds to 90 pounds in less than a week and a half on this shit. Look at me, here I am sitting at the park next to Daryl, who's trying to read this stupid book. Damn, boy's too fucking shy to go and play anywhere near the other kids, so he sits here next to me trying to read a fuckin' book. "Hey Daryl, man why don't you go over to that food truck, see if ya' can't get us some hotdog's?" I said givin Daryl and crumpled up five bucks. He looked up at me almost like I was askin' him to perform freakin rocket science. "But Merle, I don't know how." He said suckin' on his thumb from bein' so nervous." "Hey man, quit that shit. Puttin' ya damn finger in ya mouth gon' make you sick." He ripped his finger out of his mouth and sat on his hand blushin' real red lookin down at his shoes. Why do I always do that, the kids six so what if he's havin' a hard time brakin a stupid habit? "Hey man, don't worry i don' mean anythang by it. Just that only lil' kids suck their thumb, and your a gettin' to be a man. Now what ya think goin'a happen if when this new kid...when our lil' sister comes along, you ain't grown enough to be a man and watch out for 'er. I look after you, you look out for our sister, thats how flesh and blood treat each other." He looked at me for a second and nodded. "Now lets practice, now grown-ups walk up to the truck, wait in line, and just ask for the food, when he gives it to ya, take the food give him…" "MERLE!" Ryan came runn'n across the play ground with a weird look in his eye. "MERLE! MAN WHERE THE HELL ARE YA?" I sat up real fast and ran over to the high son'of'a'bitch. "Man, what the hell you want? Slow the fuck down." I said gripping his shoulders tight trying to get him ta' make some sense. "It's your house man, me and Micheal went down there to go find ya' bro, and we heard screamin' so I came here ta'get you, Micheal ran down to get the Police." I could feel myself get pale "Ryan, what the hell have I told you bout' the police. Ya' can't get them involved ma dad-" "Yeah man I know, bout Ben. But you don't understand the place was on fire." My mind went blank, _Julie, Julie, where the hell was Julie? _" Stay here Daryl." That was all I could say, all I could think about. _Keep Daryl safe, find Julie. Keep Daryl safe, find ma. Ma find her, keep them safe. _I jumped on my bike and pedaled as fast as my mother'fuckin legs would go. _Keep them safe, keep Daryl safe, find ma, keep ma and Daryl safe, ma and Daryl, ma and Daryl…_

Daryl's POV

"Merle...Merle! MERLE!" I shouted as I ran, my legs felt like fire, I was breathing hard, I couldn't keep up. They had ridden too far ahead, I couldn't keep up, I couldn't see them. I kept running, and I kept running, until I thought I was gonna pass out. "Merle…" I shouted. I sat on the curb to catch my breath, _he would come back, he would always come back for me. _My heart was still racing and I couldn't think straight. Then I started to notice something, everyone was walking or running towards my house. Which was very weird because most people in the neighborhood never really paid any attention to us, they just kept to themselves. I had to find Merle, he would tell me what was going on he always would.

I kept on walking through the wave of people and they seemed to be getting thicker and thicker the closer to my house that I got. Somehow past the crowd of people's heads i noticed that I was standing right infront of my house. There was a weird smell like the kind of smell that was around when daddy smoked. I looked up at the people, some of them were crying and others were covering their mouths. "Mam please step back...please clear the way for the medics thank you-sir, SIR, little boy step out of the way, we need to get this lady to the hospital." "MOM! MOM! NO SHE'S MY MOM, LET GO OF ME!" That was Merle. Merle never called her mom, always Julie, or lady. "Merle!" I yelled over the crowd, I had to find him, I had never heard him like this. "DARYL! DARYL WHERE ARE YA?" I ran to the sound and I could barely make out Merle's shoes among the others. Once I did I could see that Merle was...was..._crying? _No Merle never cried, he never did. His cheeks were wet, his lip was quivering, he was sniffing, and his eyes were all shiney. His eyes found me and he ran over to me. One minute I think I am watching Merle cry, the next he has his arms around me hugging me real tight. I can barely make out our house from behind Merle but as if on cue everyone moves out of the way and I can see our house. It was on fire, The brick was black, the windows were busted, and white ash was getting all over our porch. "Ma…"then I saw the big white truck, it kinda looked like the food truck.

The only difference was that the doors to the back were open and they were loading a cart onto it, no not a cart, a flat cart. Then I saw her, ma. She had blood all down her cheek and in her hair. Her hand was burned and all red looking. the rest of her they had covered in a white plastic sheet. "MA!" I screamed and I tried to run to her but Merle was holding me too tight. "Just look away, daryl just... look away."

Zoe's POV

"Yes I do little miss he's my son." I looked at her in surprise, I could see it now, she was Daryl's mama. She had his Blue eyes, his face, smile, ears, they looked like twins, if she wasn't his mama. "Why hasn't he come to see me?" I asked her, maybe Daryl was too busy at american school, or maybe he had to...to… I don't know. "Well little miss, he has to go to school, and after that he has things to do at the house." "Oh.."Mama had told me about chores, the things that we had to do around the house so that we could keep the house looking nice. "Maybe I could come over and help him around the house." I said trying to sound helpful, maybe if I helped Daryl then he could be done with his chores and we could go exploring. "Well I figured you would be busy with school." I looked down and I could feel my cheeks get red. "I...I don't go to school…" I said sitting myself back on the swing.

"How about this, on the weekends Daryl likes to go exploring in the woods you know maybe, you and him could go exploring together. You could meet here so that you guys know where to find each other." I smiled really big, I could tell why Daryl was so nice, he had an amazing mama. "Do you think you could ask him for me?" She nodded and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Well, I should be heading back home. I will make sure to tell Daryl to come meet you on saturday." I grinned "Okay, I will be right here." She smiled and began walking up the hill. She would be back, and Daryl would keep his promise.

It had been fifteen minutes or so that I had been out here. I had nothing better to do so I wasn't going to leave just yet. Alternating between swinging, going down the slide, and hanging upside down on the monkey bars. I was swinging watching everything move back and forth when I fell off the swing. I landed hard on my knee and felt a sharp pain in my knee. I looked down to see that there was a very big cut on my knee. Papa used to get these sometimes when he would come home, except they would be on his arm and right next to eachother. After he died Raphael started coming home with them. They hurt, a lot. I could feel my eyes start to sting, I wouldn't be able to walk all the way home with this.

I got up and started walking up the hill whimpering every time that I stepped on my left leg. _Maybe Daryl's mama will have a band-aid or something to help the bleeding. _I finally got to the top of the hill and I saw it. Well first I smelled it. Half way up the hill I started to smell fire, or smoke at least. I looked and saw that there was a bright light coming from one of the windows in the house. _It's probably a lamp, Daryl's mama must be in there. _I walked to the door and to my surprise it swung wide open. I walked in noticing how much hunting equipment was all over the house. It was bigger than my house not by a lot but it had more than 3 rooms. The first thing I noticed was the dead animals that were pinned to the wall, and not very well. There was a dirty big chair with a handle on the side. There was also a small box with a smooth screen, I think mama said thats what a TV looked like. I walked back to the room and I noticed that thats where the weird glow was coming from. I opened the door and looked around in horror. The room was on fire and Daryl's mama was laying on the ground unconscious in the middle of it. I ran to her and grabbed her arm, she was heavy, which was weird because she was very skinny, I think its because she had a big belly, she probably had a baby in there, I wonder if she knew.

I dragged her out of the room and into the room with the big chair and TV. I grabbed at the back door to notice that it was closed. I grabbed it only to pull away from it, it was hot VERY hot. I shrieked as I felt my hand burn against the hot medal. It wasn't opening, so I tried opening the window only to cry out again. The top widow had shattered and left glass all over the bottom window sill. My burned hand was cut and looked like it was bleeding really bad. My leg hurt, my hand was burning with pain, and my head was spinning with all the smoke. I crawled out of the window and fell hard on the floor, I had to go get help. I crawled a little farther before getting myself up. I walked to the edge of the hill, only to fall and roll painfully down it. I sat down and rested my aching head against the tree. I could feel my eyes getting heavy, _but I had to get help...for...for, Daryl. _My eyes went blurry and shut. _I would get them, I would walk home and get mama for help…_

**So there's that chapter, in case you haven't noticed there is a bit of a time lapse in this one so that I can cover everyone's point of view. once again would love for some sort of comments from you guys. This is your story too after all would love to hear feed back. New chapters coming sooner than you think. (:**


	6. Iris Part2- goodbye

Merle's POV

"Does she have any family or relatives?"

"naw, just me, her, n'Daryl." _Lie_

"Daryl's the boy, your brother correct?"

"yeah, the one in the waitn' room."

"What about your father?"

"He...they broke up." _Lie, lie_

"You mean divorced."

"Naw, they was never married."

"Living together?"

"For awhile, not sense Daryl was born." _Lie, lie, lie_

"has he ever come back."

"No…"_Lie, lie, lie, lie_

"So I assume you are power of attorney?"

"What?"

"How old are you?"

"um, 13."

"Your sure, you're the only one we can consult?"

"Yeah, there's no one else."

"You're too young to be power of attorney. You are sure she

doesn't have one?"

"Yeah, she never did all that stuff."

"So what is your decision?"

"what do I have ta'decide?"

"To pull the plug or not."

"whats that mean?"

"Your mother went brain dead. Before the fire she took a multiple severe hits to the head. This caused her brain to swell, no oxygen got to it and she passed out. That combined with smoke inhalation killed her. We were able to revive her, but her brain was cut off from circulation too long, the second that we take her off the machines she's going to die. we need to ln.."

"Excuse me, Dr. Jenner, are you Ms. Peterson's doctor?"

"No, i'm an intern I handle all the legal paperwork for Dr. Hoeffler he performed the surgery on Julie Peterson. She didn't make it off the table she we-." _Its Julie Peterson Dixon, bitch_

"Yes I am well aware of what happened, thats why I am here. I am Susan Henderson, my job is representing minor's in cases of power of attorney."

"Um, what do I have to do."

"That will be all for now, what is it Daryl?"

"No, thats my brother, i'm the older one Merle."

"oh yes, I read your file. Here is how it works Merle, because you are 13 and under aged you cannot represent power of attorney. However it appears that you are the oldest remaining member of your family to make the decision, sense we cannot seem to be able to locate your father, we by law have to decide between a doctor and me. I am going to take your opinion under consideration, and then discuss with the doctor about what is the best choice for you and your brother, and what to do about your mother. So for now I am going to talk with the doctor and you and your brother can talk in the waiting room."

"What that's it? Can we see our mom?"

"Yes, but I mind you that for your brothers sake being so young it might-"  
>"I know what's good for me and my brother he can handle it. We're gonna stay with ma."<br>_Bitch, tryin ta kill our ma._

"Well I am sure that um, Dr. Jenner here can escort you and your brother to your mothers room while I talk to the surgeon who worked on your mother."

"Sure thing, . is in the OR right now he will be out in around 20 minutes. If you wan-"  
>"Thank you Dr. Jenner, but I think that I can find him on my own."<br>_Bitch_

"So Merle, um...you and your brother do...you get along?"

_Why do you care?_

"yeah, I guess we have ta' now that i'm all he's got."

"I have a son, he's a little older than Daryl. 8 years old, next week."

"Daryl's 6, he don't even remember last time he had a birthday party, his birthday is in a month or so."

"I'm sure he'll have a great birthday."

_Ring, Ring…_

"oh shit...um I mean do you mind if I take this. It's my sons school."

"Sure."

_Ma, used to give me birthday parties._

"Um...yes, I'm his mom...how bad is it?...Oh...Okay um did...you already call his dad?...I...No...I can get him...i really...okay you can put him on the phone...Edwin, hi honey what's wrong?...Honey you're gonna have to talk slower...does your arm hurt?...okay...yeah, I know honey...can you move it?...Don't worry baby...yeah I'm on my way...baby...tell the front desk lady i'll be there soon...okay love you too...bye"

_Sure they weren't big but she got the cake, at least one present. She did her best, I always got to blow out the candles, she'd always sing-_

"oh god...Merle can you get your brother? Your mom is in room 238, can you find it yourself?'

"yeah. don't worry 'bout it."

"Okay, I have to go. um...good luck."

"k'bye."

_7th birthday, I remember my present. I was sittin' in ma's lap, eating the last of the slice of cake she could afford. _I walked through the hallways and doctors and nurses would pass me. I heard screaming and some doctors yellin' and shoutin' at each other ta' get this that and the other. _She said : "Hey, ranger. I have another present for ya." I looked up at her confused. "But ma, I didn't want nothin' else." She smiled : " I know. All ya wanted was a cool belt buckle. Ya got one. I have another present for ya, that for both of us." _ A whole bunch of doctors ran past me wheeling a cart in between them. I could barely make out a small boy's face out of them. "_In a few months, you are gonna have a baby brother." _"Multiple lesions to the leg. Minor bruising on face and chest." _I looked up at her in shock, a baby, like a real baby one that came out of your belly? _They rushed by just as I saw the boy cough blood getting all over his face and chest. "_And you know what I think I want to let you name him. "Really?" yeah of course baby. _THe boy was rolled past me, I didn't wanna look back at him. I heard the doctors and nurses holer'n only to be muted out by the sound of a beepin heart machine. "_What about that new song that came on the radio the other day, the one you said you liked with the funny name, the one that was made by a guy named oates?" _I walked through another set of doors to pass by a room where I heard screaming. "_oh, you mean Daryl hall and John oates?" "Yeah that one ma," _I looked into the room that had transparent doors to see a lady with a pregnant belly screaming and crying while a guy held her hand and told her ta push. And I was just standing there like an idiot. "_Didn't they say that song came out this year?" "Yeah, It was also their first song, why baby whatcha thinkin?" _The lady cried one more time before a nurse reached into the blanket and pulled out a bloody baby. "_Well sense ya liked it so much maybe we could name him Daryl Hall?" She laughed and smiled down at me. _"It's a boy." The nurse said as the mother smiled and so did the dad. "_I don't know baby how bout' Dayrl Dixon, that way everyone can know your his brother and i'm his ma?" _"Would you like to hold him?" The nurse asked as she held the moms hand and the other nurse cleaned off the screamin' baby. "Yes please." The ma said, she was tired, exhausted, and really sweatin' but she was still smilin'. "_Yeah that sounds good mama, Daryl dixon." _The ma and dad smiled down at their kid and started kissn' its head. _Daryl Dixon my new baby brother…_

Daryl's POV

_I was walking through the woods, leaves were crunching beneath my feet and the birds were being real loud. " Daryl, Daryl baby turn around." I turned to the sound of the voice ta see ma standing there . She was wearin' a pretty white summer dress and she had her hair pulled over one shoulder. "Come over here baby, I want ta tell ya somethin'." "Mama, what happened in the house?" She walked over ta me and sat on her knees beside me. "I met your friend Zoe, she's a nice girl, I can tell you two are good friends." "Yeah we are, Merle says that he has girlfriends too." She chuckled smiling staring off into the distance before looking back at me. "Those are different kinds of friends. Promise me you'll keep her close, good friends are ones that you'll have for life." "Okay ma, are you okay, your eyes are shiny." She looked at me lip trembling and eyes watery as she gave me a real smile. "oh, baby I am just so proud of you. You and your brother are growing up to be such Brave, smart, caring people, I love you so much doodle bug." She said real sweet before hugging me. "Goodbye baby." "Wait where are you goin ma?" I heard a beeping noise and opened my eyes…_

My eyes were sleepy and heavy, I rubbed them tryin to wake myself up. What had she meant by goodbye? I opened my eyes wide to see that I was still laying in the chair that they had in the hospital bed. I was still wearn' my dinosaur long johns that used to be merle's with a yellow hospital blanket over me. I sat up and stared at the people in my ma's room they were all dressed the same I think that they were all doctors or nurses. "Thank you doctor, I will collect the boys and send them to a foster home." _Foster home? What was a foster home? Where were me and Merle going? _I looked over to the door and Merle wasn't there. Just a whole bunch of doctors and some lady in a suite. "Very well, and thank you for getting this whole operation going Ms. Henderson. My staff could only do so much about the boys, they haven't left for 3 days since their mother was brought into the ER." "Its only my job Dr. Hoeffler, thank you dearly for taking your time with this." All the sudden I heard the beepin noise again and I realized it was coming from what looked like a TV on a stick. " , time of death 14:01:54." _Death? What? Who was dead? _I looked around scared and alone, where was Merle, he was always here where was he? "What the hell?!" That was Merle. I looked to the door to see him staring around at us. "Merle!" I said noticing how everyone stopped to watch us. I ran over to him and pulled on the bottom of his shirt to get his attention. "Whats going on? What's death time?" I asked him hoping he would have the answer. He looked around at the doctors. "What time ?" The doctor said. "Time of death 14:01:54 hours Dr. Hoeffler." "What did you say?!" Merle said his voice cracked and his face was gettin real red. "Time of death, it means your mother died at 2:01pm. I'm sorry for you loss boys but this was the best choice for all of you." The women in the suit said. "What's she sayin Merle?" I was scared I think I knew what she was sayin but I wanted to know for sure. "Ma's dead Daryl, Ma's gone." He said his voice cracking and his lip started to shake. I felt sick, Ma? gone? "What...no..NO...MA!" I said Running over to her jumping onto the bed in one leap, grabbing her shoulders and nudging her like I do when I try to wake her up. Her skin felt like ice, and her face was pale, and the machines seemed to go quiet. I couldn't hear what the doctor was sayin or what Merle was yellin. All I did was sit there and cry into ma's cold chest, just wishing that I could feel her kiss my head, sing to me, hug me, hold me with her warm hands, or even touch me, but she was gone. All I felt was Merle pull me away, as she got farther, and farther, and farther away until she was gone, she was dead.

Zoe's POV

It had been two weeks since I talked to Daryl's mama. I had stopped going to the park because ever since I had come home with the burn on my hand Ma had told me to stay in the house. But today was sunday, Exactly two weeks tomorrow since I had met Daryl's mama. My mama was off at work again, so I was alone in the house. The doors were locked and I knew it, but mama always forgot to lock the windows. I climbed out of the window and lowered myself down to the flower beds, not caring that I squished some of the Irises. I ran through the forest and past all the tree's maybe today Daryl would be there. Once I got to the playground I saw Daryl sitting there with a older boy on the slide, they were all alone. The older boy saw me first he glanced at me like he was confused at first then he just looked curious. "Hey" That was all he said not once looking away. "Hi…" I said real quiet, Daryl was sitting in the bed of flowers his back to me. I walked past him and sat behind Daryl before tapping him on the shoulder. He slowly turned around, his eyes were red and puffy and he was sniffling like he had been crying. I scooched over closer to him so that our shoulders were only an inch apart. "What happened?" I asked, I didn't understand why Daryl would be crying. "M-ma...she got hurt, and she died." He said his mouth quivering. I didn't understand what had killed her? "How?" "The house burned, and she was inside." He said as his eyes starting getting shiney. "Oh…" _So she was dead, when I got her out of the house she was already dead. _"I'm sorry" I said before wrapping my arms around Daryl. Hugging him like mama hugged me when we found out about papa. His face was pressed into my shoulder and I could feel his sobs and tears on my shoulder. He lifted his head enough so that his chin was resting on my shoulder. "She was g-gonna have a baby." He whimpered before sobbing again. I hugged him tighter "I'm sorry."

Daryl's POV

_I was never gonna see her again. I would never hear her say my name, never hear her laugh, never hear her sing, never see her face. I would never get to meet Iris, I would never be able to look into my moms bright blue eyes and hear her say I love you. Goodbye ma, goodbye Iris. _

**Okay guys so yeah I know this chapter was a little bit of a tear jerker, but it had to be part of the story thank you Siancore, StarHobbit, xAmandaxXxPandax, and uglybarbiedoll for actually reading this story. I hope you guys enjoy, and thank you everyone who is reading this. I will post new chapters whenever I can. **


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